Air-controller for piano-players.



PATENTED OUT. 15, 1907.

G. M. THOMA3. AIR CONTROLLER FOR HANG PLAYERS.

APPLIUATICH FILED MAY 31, 1906.

@M 1 200% I Chi/m;

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

, m-con'momn-ron PIANO-PLAYERS.

'specificationbf Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1907.

' Application and Ma 81,1906. serial No. 319,476.

To all whom it may mm: 4

.Betit-known'thztl; Comma MoNJEAN Trrouss, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Middletown, county of Butler, Statelof Ohio, have invented certain new and' useful Improvements in' Air-Controllers for Piano-Players, of which the followplayers and similar instruments wherein a perforated ing is a specification. My invention relates to an attachment for pianoweb of paper termed the record in passing over an air-conductor or tracker board controls the opening of the air passages in said conductor so as to regulate the Operation of the key controlling mechanism, in accordance to the position and the length of the perforations in the'record, to play the musical composition contained upon the record automatically.

In the operatipn of these piano-players, as long as the'record is passing over the tracker-board, the key I out playing the intermediate portion.

In the accompanyingfdrawing I have shown only 4 so much of a piano-player as is necessary to an understanding of my attachment.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of thepianoTpIayer in which the record is mounted, showing the trackerboard with my attachmentponnected thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the trackerboard shown in Fig. 1 upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the attachment likewise 'upon an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of my invention.

Referring to the parts: The'tracker-board, A, with its series of air-channels, a, and journal bearings, B, for receiving the roll containing the web of paper, as well as the means for carrying the web from the roll to be mounted upon the journal bearings B, over the trackerboard, A, to a rear roll, (not shownj, are all of ordinary construction, and need not, therefore, be more specifically described.

In the form of inventionillustratedin Fig. 1, I have secured to the front of the tracker-board, A, a horizontal strip, D, so that it will be capable'of a sliding motion in 56 guide strip, C, above which I cut a series of bores a, at points in the tracker directly opposite said channels, a, each running into corresponding channels, a, each of said bores,a, being of a width equal to the width of its channel, a. In each of the bores, a, I mount a fiat and out of said bore.

, Beneath the bars, D, mount the operating E,

upon the guide,stri'p, G. .The operating bar, ,E,,has a series of oblique slots, e-cut' in it and hasat its enda 'kn'ob,"e. The guide'str'rp, O, hasa horizontal'led'ge, 0, along its" front, between which and the tracker-board, A, the operating bar, E, is adapted to slide. The movement of the operating bar, E, is limited upon the left by a stop, 0, upon the strip and upon the right by a stop, 0 7

Each of the bars, D, has at its outer end downwardly projecting studs, d, each of which engages one of the oblique slots, 2. The length of the bars, D, the relative positions of. the slots, e, to the bars, and to the studs, 1

d, are designed so that when the operating bar, E, abuts the stop, 0, upon the left, the bars, D,'are drawn outward'so as to leave the passage, a free, as'shown Fig. 2, and that when the operating bar is moved to the right by grasping the handle, e, to the position in which its end abuts against the right hand stop, 'c, the slot, e, by engaging the studs, d, have moved the operating bars, D, clear across the channel, a, into the notches, a upon the opposite side of the channel, a, so that the channels, a, are closed by the strips, D.

In the modification shown in 4, the bars, D, are made integral with a connecting strip, D whose ends abut against transverse guide blocks, 0 mounted upon the guide strip, G. The operating bar, E, abuts against the ledge, c, and has fingers, e at its outer ends,

which abutting against the strip, 0, limit the right and left hand motion of the operating bar. The strip, D

and the operating bar, E, are connected by bars, F, pivoted at their ends respectively to the strips, D and the operating bar, E, in a manner such that when the operating bar, E, occupies its right-hand position,

such as shown in Fig. 4, the bars, F, are in an obliqueposition, to draw the strip, D toward the operating bar, E ,and to carry the bars, D, clear of the channels, a, and that when the operating bar, E, is moved to its right hand position, the links, F, assume a transverse position so as to push the bar, D away from the operating bar, E, and to carry the strips, D, across the channel, a. I

1 In use, when the performer comes to a portion of the record which he does not desire to hear, if he be using the modification shown in Fig. 1, he grasps the knob, e, and moves the operating bar to the right. This will project the bars, D,across each of the channels, a, thereby closing them off and preventing the air from passing through the channels so that the key operating mechanism remains inert, while the record continues to pass over the tracker-board, A. When the partof the record has been reached which the performer desires to have played, he simply moves the operating bar, E, to its left-hand position, drawing the bars, D, free of the channel, a. In like manner, in using the modification shown in Fig. 1, to place the air conductor in position to prevent the air passing through the channels, a,

while allowing the record-to be fed over the trackerboard, the operator has simply to move the operating bar, E.

What I claim is: I

1. In a bianmplayer, the combination of a tracker-board. a means for feeding a record over the tracker-board, and a means for closing all the ducts of the tracker-board against the passage of air without interfering with the passage of the record thereover.

2. In a piano'player, 'the combination ofn tracker-hoard having a series of air channels therein, means for feeding a record over the tracker-board, bars for regulating the opening and closing of. all the channels, and an independent sliding operatinga'od having connections for actuating the bars to project them across the channels or to draw them vover the tracker-board.

,verse channels across the air channels, a series of bars' mounted in the transverse channels, a guide strip secured to the tracker-board, an operating har'gu ided upon the guide strip and means for connecting the operating bar to the bars in the transverse channels sothat the longitudinal movement of the operating har actuates the channel hars'to project them across the air channels or to draw them clear of the same,

, CORDULA:MONJEAN THOMAS. Witnesses WALTER F. MURRAY, Acsns Mcconzimen. 

